20 Small Caps Insiders Love

Small-cap stocks tend to offer investors greater growth opportunities than large-cap alternatives, although this comes with its fair share of added risk. If you're interested in small-cap stocks, here are some ideas to get started on your search.

We ran a screen on small-cap stocks (with market caps under $500 million) for those with the greatest net insider buying over the last six months.

Insiders, such as members of the company's board and upper management, report when they personally buy company shares - this is seen by analysts as a very bullish sign because who knows more about the company's prospects than they do? ‪Interactive Chart: Press Play to compare changes in analyst ratings over the last two years for the top six stocks mentioned below. Analyst ratings sourced from Zacks Investment Research.‬

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We also created a price-weighted index of the stocks mentioned below, and monitored the performance of the list relative to the S&P 500 index over the last month. (To access a complete analysis of this list's recent performance, click here.)

Are you optimistic on the outlook of these stocks? Use this list as a starting point for your own analysis.

List sorted by net insider purchases as a percent of share float.

1. Overseas Shipholding Group Inc. (OSG): Engages in the ocean transportation of crude oil and petroleum products. Market cap of $411.65M. Net insider shares purchased over the last six months at 1.70M, which is 7.62% of the company's 22.26M share float. Offers a good dividend, and appears to have good liquidity to back it up--dividend yield at 6.48%, current ratio at 2.44, and quick ratio at 2.14. The stock is a short squeeze candidate, with a short float at 35.73% (equivalent to 10.37 days of average volume). The stock has had a good month, gaining 47.17%.

2. Golden Minerals Company (NYSEMKT:AUMN): Engages in the exploration and development of precious metals and other mineral properties in Mexico and South America. Market cap of $333.14M. Net insider shares purchased over the last six months at 2.0M, which is 7.02% of the company's 28.50M share float. The stock is a short squeeze candidate, with a short float at 10.17% (equivalent to 8.1 days of average volume). The stock has had a couple of great days, gaining 6.29% over the last week.

3. QLT Inc. (NASDAQ:QLTI): Engages in the development and commercialization of therapies for the eye. Market cap of $334.64M. Net insider shares purchased over the last six months at 1.66M, which is 5.63% of the company's 29.40M share float. The stock has lost 3.68% over the last year.

4. GeoEye, Inc. (NASDAQ:GEOY): Provides earth imagery and imagery information products, as well as image processing services to the United States and foreign government defense and intelligence organizations, domestic federal and foreign civil agencies, and commercial customers. Market cap of $489.07M. Net insider shares purchased over the last six months at 829.58K, which is 5.0% of the company's 16.60M share float. The stock has lost 47.65% over the last year.

5. Air Transport Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATSG): Provides aircraft, airline operations, and other related services primarily to the shipping and transportation industries. Market cap of $358.79M. Net insider shares purchased over the last six months at 1.19M, which is 2.52% of the company's 47.15M share float. The stock has had a couple of great days, gaining 14.29% over the last week.

6. ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZIOP): Focuses on the development and commercialization of in-licensed cancer drugs in North America. Market cap of $349.78M. Net insider shares purchased over the last six months at 1.35M, which is 2.37% of the company's 57.11M share float. The stock is a short squeeze candidate, with a short float at 13.84% (equivalent to 18.47 days of average volume). The stock has had a good month, gaining 16.14%.

7. Sunrise Senior Living Inc. (SRZ): Provides senior living services in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Germany. Market cap of $383.31M. Net insider shares purchased over the last six months at 916.79K, which is 2.22% of the company's 41.36M share float. The stock is a short squeeze candidate, with a short float at 14.39% (equivalent to 11.59 days of average volume). The stock has had a couple of great days, gaining 8.48% over the last week.

8. Endeavour International Corporation (NYSE:END): Engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of crude oil and natural gas in the United States and the United Kingdom. Market cap of $343.84M. Net insider shares purchased over the last six months at 431.0K, which is 1.90% of the company's 22.65M share float. The stock is a short squeeze candidate, with a short float at 19.97% (equivalent to 12.42 days of average volume). The stock has had a good month, gaining 43.55%.

9. Merge Healthcare Incorporated (NASDAQ:MRGE): Provides health information technology interoperability solutions. Market cap of $477.84M. Net insider shares purchased over the last six months at 258.50K, which is 0.99% of the company's 26.11M share float. The stock is a short squeeze candidate, with a short float at 8.84% (equivalent to 6.11 days of average volume). The stock has had a couple of great days, gaining 7.1% over the last week.

10. Commercial Vehicle Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CVGI): Designs and manufactures integrated system solutions for the commercial vehicle markets worldwide. Market cap of $305.25M. Net insider shares purchased over the last six months at 225.47K, which is 0.96% of the company's 23.50M share float. The stock is a short squeeze candidate, with a short float at 6.28% (equivalent to 8.79 days of average volume). The stock has had a good month, gaining 20.29%.

11. TransAtlantic Petroleum Ltd. (NYSEMKT:TAT): Engages in the acquisition, development, exploration, and production of crude oil and natural gas. Market cap of $464.49M. Net insider shares purchased over the last six months at 1.85M, which is 0.85% of the company's 216.42M share float. It's been a rough couple of days for the stock, losing 7.3% over the last week. The stock has had a good month, gaining 20.95%.

12. Echo Global Logistics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECHO): Provides technology enabled transportation and supply chain management services in the United States. Market cap of $383.42M. Net insider shares purchased over the last six months at 88.79K, which is 0.83% of the company's 10.74M share float. The stock is a short squeeze candidate, with a short float at 17.58% (equivalent to 34.94 days of average volume). The stock has gained 45.83% over the last year.

13. ATP Oil & Gas Corp. (ATPG): Engages in the acquisition, development, and production of oil and natural gas properties in the Gulf of Mexico, the United Kingdom, and the Dutch sectors of the North Sea. Market cap of $384.05M. Net insider shares purchased over the last six months at 314.50K, which is 0.81% of the company's 38.91M share float. This is a risky stock that is significantly more volatile than the overall market (beta = 2.85). The stock is a short squeeze candidate, with a short float at 44.98% (equivalent to 9.55 days of average volume). The stock has had a couple of great days, gaining 6.29% over the last week.

14. Hot Topic Inc. (NASDAQ:HOTT): Operates as a mall- and Web-based specialty retailer in the United States. Market cap of $309.69M. Net insider shares purchased over the last six months at 243.50K, which is 0.64% of the company's 37.98M share float. The stock has gained 32.55% over the last year.

15. Viasystems Group Inc. (NASDAQ:VIAS): Provides multi-layer printed circuit boards (OTCQB:PCBS) and electro-mechanical solutions worldwide. Market cap of $346.83M. Net insider shares purchased over the last six months at 14.50K, which is 0.56% of the company's 2.58M share float. This is a risky stock that is significantly more volatile than the overall market (beta = 3.09). The stock has lost 2.52% over the last year.

16. Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services Inc. (NYSEMKT:LTS): Provides a range of financial services primarily to corporate and institutional clients, and high net-worth individuals in the United States. Market cap of $446.52M. Net insider shares purchased over the last six months at 430.90K, which is 0.54% of the company's 79.16M share float. The stock is a short squeeze candidate, with a short float at 5.06% (equivalent to 12.32 days of average volume). The stock has gained 110.34% over the last year.

17. Eagle Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EGBN): Operates as the bank holding company for EagleBank that provides various commercial and consumer banking services. Market cap of $318.36M. Net insider shares purchased over the last six months at 86.23K, which is 0.52% of the company's 16.74M share float. The stock has had a good month, gaining 12.21%.

18. ExamWorks Group, Inc. (NYSE:EXAM): Provides independent medical examinations (IME), peer and bill reviews, and related services to property and casualty insurance carriers, law firms, third-party claim administrators, government agencies, and state funds in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Market cap of $319.49M. Net insider shares purchased over the last six months at 123.10K, which is 0.48% of the company's 25.60M share float. The stock is a short squeeze candidate, with a short float at 11.03% (equivalent to 8.76 days of average volume). The stock has lost 57.63% over the last year.

19. Susser Holdings Corporation (NYSE:SUSS): Operates convenience stores and distributes motor fuels in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Louisiana. Market cap of $416.81M. Net insider shares purchased over the last six months at 51.50K, which is 0.48% of the company's 10.77M share float. The stock has had a couple of great days, gaining 6.85% over the last week.

20. Zhongpin, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOGS): Engages in the processing and distribution of meat and food products primarily in the People's Republic of China. Market cap of $461.58M. Net insider shares purchased over the last six months at 125.0K, which is 0.48% of the company's 26.10M share float. The stock is a short squeeze candidate, with a short float at 12.31% (equivalent to 13.59 days of average volume). The stock has had a couple of great days, gaining 16.22% over the last week.

Insider data sourced from Yahoo Finance; all other data sourced from Finviz.

Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.

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